Gino DiMare Rejoins Canes Baseball Staff
July 14, 2011
Coral Gables, Fla. – University of Miami head baseball coach Jim Morris has officially announced the hiring of Gino DiMare as a new assistant coach for the Hurricanes. DiMare, who previously served as an assistant at Miami from 1997-2008, rejoins the staff after spending the last three seasons away from the program.
Prior to his exit in 2008, DiMare served as the Canes recruiting coordinator and hitting coach over his final nine seasons. He held the title of assistant head coach during the 2008 season – a year the Canes won the Atlantic Coast Conference championship before advancing to the College World Series.
“We are very excited to have Gino back as a part of our program,” said Morris. “We achieved getting to the College World Series and winning a national championship when he was here before and we’re just happy to have him back with the program at the University of Miami.”
DiMare will serve as the assistant coach in charge of hitters and share responsibilities with pitching coach J.D. Arteaga in recruiting efforts.
Previously, DiMare helped recruit and coach players such as Yonder Alonso, Ryan Braun, Jon Jay, Gaby Sanchez, Danny Valencia and Jemile Weeks – all of whom have reached the big leagues in recent years.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to coach at Miami again and I’m looking forward to working with the players and coaches,” said DiMare. “I’m very happy to be part of the UM family again.”
DiMare’s accomplishments on the recruiting scene during his nine years in the capacity of recruiting coordinator are as impressive as the Hurricanes’ annual postseason results. His 2001 class was rated among the top five nationally and his 2003 class was ranked among the top 15 nationally. UM’s 2008 recruiting class, which was targeted primarily by DiMare, was ranked second by Collegiate Baseball and fifth by Baseball America prior to the 2007 season.
That includes Braun, the 2005 ACC Player of the Year and Cesar Carrillo, the ACC’s Pitcher of the Year that same season. Braun and Carrillo were also Miami’s two first-round draft picks in 2005. DiMare has also kept Florida’s top talent home, including 2006 first-round pick Chris Perez (Holmes Beach) and second-round pick Jay (Miami).
DiMare’s offensive teams also proved to be some of the best in the history of the Hurricanes program. UMiami’s offense ranked among the top 10 in school history in eight of DiMare’s nine seasons as the club’s hitting instructor. The 2005 team hit .321, the seventh-best team batting average in school history and the 2004 squad finished the season with a .330 batting average, which ranks fourth in school history. UM’s .310 average in 2006 was only bested by five teams that were not under the guidance of DiMare, dating back 62 years. The 1999 Hurricanes posted the third-best batting average in school history with a .333 mark, while the 2000 team finished with a .323 batting average that ranks sixth all time. Miami batted .315 in 2003 and .314 in 2002 (10th).
The 2008 team that advanced to the College World Series and spent much of the season atop the national collegiate baseball polls finished the year hitting at a school eighth-best .320 average, while also ranking tied for second in home runs (106), fourth in slugging percentage (.541), eighth in total bases (1,202) and RBI (517), tied for ninth in doubles (135) and 10th in hits (711).
DiMare has long been associated with the Miami baseball program. First, he was a fan as a kid growing up in South Florida. Then, DiMare was a player for the Hurricanes following a stellar career at Miami Westminster Christian.
He was a standout outfielder for the Canes from 1989-92, with a career batting average of .290. He currently ranks among UM’s leaders in career games played (243), career stolen bases (93) and total sacrifices (36). In 1991, DiMare led the Hurricanes with a .353 batting average. Following his career in Coral Gables, he was signed as a free agent by the Boston Red Sox. He played the 1992-93 seasons in the Red Sox minor league system in Winter Haven and Ft. Lauderdale.
Upon returning to Miami, DiMare spent the 1996 season as an assistant coach at Westminster – the 1996 High School National Champions. DiMare then returned to UM in 1997 and was a volunteer coach for three seasons, in charge of outfielders and base running.
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